The invention relates to a flocked hair curling roller system in which the rollers are heated by the insertion of a cylindrical heating post member in an interior cylindrical bore contained within the roller.
U.S. Pats. Nos. 3,519,792; 3,600,552; Re. 26,766 and Des. 256,509 disclose hair curling roller systems having a plurality of hair curling rollers mounted on post members which generate heat within the rollers. Typically in such systems the post members have been of the same size when the rollers are of the same size and where the rollers have varied in size the post members have varied in size for accommodating the different size rollers. U.S. Pats. Nos. 3,610,878 and 4,298,787 disclose hair curling roller systems having heating posts of different sizes for different size rollers.
For proper styling of the hair, it is desirable to use rollers of several different sizes. At the same time, it is convenient for the use of the hair curling roller system if all of the heating posts are of the same size so that the rollers can be placed onto any of the posts. If all of the posts are made with the same diameter then the posts must be small in order to accommodate the smaller rollers. In the larger rollers, however, if the diameter of the inner cavity into which the heating post is inserted is small so that the roller can be mounted on a small diameter post, the heat from the post does not sufficiently radiate out to the outer surface of the larger rollers. Consequently, when different size rollers are included in the system, larger heating posts have been included for heating the larger rollers.
U.S. Pats. Nos. 3,888,266 to Weldon and 4,202,360 to Walter both disclose flocked hair curling rollers. The hair curler disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,888,266 has a flocked outer surface having a large number of upstanding short non-hydroscopic filaments or fibers capable of retaining moisture by capillary action. The hair curling roller disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,360 has a cylindrical member having a flocked outer surface and a hollow cylindrical core which is adapted to receive a heating element. A pair of end caps are joined directly to the outside surface of the flocked roller at the ends of the cylinder. An inner cylindrical surface of each of the end caps directly engages the outer surface of the flocked roller and in order to secure such engagement, protrusions on such inner surface extend into recesses on the roller. The protrusions alternatively may be carried by either the end cap or the end of the flocked roller with the recesses being on the other member.
The flocked hair curling roller disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,360 does not contain a space between the outside surface of the flocked roller and the inside surface of the end caps at the point of engagement of the end caps with the flocked roller. Because of the periodic heating and cooling of the roller during its use and storage, the end caps are subjected to periodic expansion and contraction which may cause structural fatigue of the end caps thereby potentially damaging them.
Moreover, the direct engagement of the inner surface of the end caps disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,360 with the outer flocked surface of the roller can cause the flocking to be rubbed off the edge of the roller in the area of overlap between the end caps and the roller.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 463,662 to Arnold Thaler entitled "Flocked Hair Curling Roller" filed Feb. 4, 1983, which is assigned to the same assignee as the present application, discloses a flocked hair curling roller in which the end rings have flanges that extend over but are spaced from the layer of flocking material.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,209,766 discloses a hair curling roller with two snap on end caps. U.S. Pats. Nos. 698,578 and 4,403,621 disclose hair curlers having a plurality of longitudinally extending rods.